The second edition of art meets design – Femme Voices, shapes and forms is about celebrating the boldness, softness & intricacies of the female voice, shape & form through art and design. This is an exhibition comprised exclusively of female contemporary artists.
The representation of women in art has changed over time and varies across cultures. Throughout history, women have been depicted in a variety of ways, often reflecting the social and cultural norms of their time. In modern and contemporary art, women artists have been at the forefront of challenging traditional gender roles and representations of women. Female artists have created works that interrogate gender norms, explore the female body, and challenge the male gaze. They have also used art to address issues such as sexuality, race, and politics.
Although a unifying theme exploring the outstanding features & the audacious voice of the female and how it translates in art and design runs through all the works, each piece outlines its own unique story. The collection showcases paintings, textile art and sculptures which aim to raise the voice of women, while also highlighting all the intricate qualities that women possess.
Overall, the representation of women in art continues to evolve and change, reflecting the shifting social, cultural, and political climate of our times. Through this exhibition, we aim to celebrate this shift while also highlighting the role that urban design plays in expressing femininity.
The talented group of women who have displayed their stirring compositions are Lerato Motau, Jessicah Yakno-Abasi Ene, Naledi Modupi, Dora Prevost and Zenande Mketeni. The works in the exhibition are styled with pieces from BoConcept’s timeless designs that accentuate soft forms, yet bold styles.
About the Artists:
Dora Prevost
Dora Prevost is a sculptor finding inspiration for her sculpture in the female body and issues pertinent to women. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and residing in Johannesburg, her art focuses on asserting and reinforcing the female voice.
Exploring women as her main theme, her work is an expression of women’s sensitivity showing their strength and beauty and dramatising stereotypes. She approaches subjects related to gender-based violence and injustice that women face today.
Jessicah Yakno-Abasi Ene
Ene Yakno-Abasi Jessicah is an emerging abstract realism artist based in Lagos, Nigeria. From an early age, she showed a great passion for art and was always eager to experiment and improve on her skills.
A specialist in textiles, Yakno’s inclination to experiment with materials and processes, led her to having a good grasp of other aspects of art. Because of her love for the expressiveness of the paint medium, in 2019, she decided to start creating works in the genre of painting. She derives inspiration from the formal elegance of the human body, which she applies elements like bright colours, gold paint, paper, to create stylised, proportionally distorted figures that have elements of 2D and also the fullness, proximity, gestures and values of a 3D image to portray the beauty and diversity of her people as an African woman.
Lerato Motau
Lerato Motau is a textile and fibre artist living in Soweto, South Africa. Her media are hand embroidery and appliqué with upcycled pieces of fabric on hessian. Her unique style embraces mashungani (SeSotho for “bright”) colours which resonate with her. Born and raised in Soweto during the apartheid era, Lerato’s journey to fibre artistry has been challenging. As a young girl, she struggled to read and write. At the age of 14, she was assessed as dyslexic.
Zenande Mketeni
Zenande Mketeni is a multidisciplinary Artist – a sculptor, print maker, painter and photographer. In her work, she explores the discourse around black women in post-colonial South Africa in relation to Xhosa culture.
Zenande believes that black women contribute to the importance of cultural theologies and that there is need to reimagine the representation of what a black Xhosa woman is, re-envision the spaces she resides and exists within her culture.
Naledi Modupi
Naledi Tshegofatso Modupi is a multi-dimensional visual artist who has developed a powerful and distinctive style of portraiture. She is known for her versatility and skill in exploring both traditional and digital art form.
Her portraits showcase individuality, boldness and energy expressed through the use of vibrant colours and continuous lines that define each face distinctly. These colors are also symbolic of her interest in celebrating the beauty of blackness and all the qualities associated with being a woman. Her work is deeply connected to this idea; it serves as an authentic celebration for women’s personalities and selfhood.
